Saturday, May 31, 2008

Question for Experienced Bloggers

As you all knew, I have only been blogging for about a year, and I cannot figure something out. How am I supposed to respond to those kind people who leave comments? I have had several comments left that I would love to respond to, but I am not sure about the protocol. I feel that if someone takes the time to leave me a comment I should respond, especially if it is a question or something kind. If I respond via email, will the person think I am a freak? Do I leave a comment under theirs on my blog? Or do I go to their blog? Could some of you experienced bloggers please let me know how you respond to those who leave you comments?

The packers come on Monday and I am so not ready, I have decided I do not care if they pack things that do not make sense (like a full trashcan, pillows from the living room in the kitchen stuff.) I am sick of this move!

I got to knit two rows on the BBS today, aren't I lucky? :-)

Friday, May 30, 2008

A Meme is a Meme is a Meme?

. . . or is it? I have been tagged by Toni in Idaho, so I am sharing the wealth with the blogging world

The Rules:
Rules are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names. Then the player goes to each of the “named” people’s blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. If you’ve been tagged, you do the same, letting the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer. Your answer, of course, is the answer to the following questions. Here we go!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I never realized it until I sat down to type this up, but I was in the process of moving 10 years ago, just like I am now. I worked for the same government agency and had been transferred to Mammoth Cave, Kentucky for a year and I was moving back to Georgia to my family’s deep regret and mine. We loved it there, but work sometimes has to come first.

2. 5 things on my to-do list today?
*Calling utility companies and turning off all services as of June 7.
*Laundry, it all has to be done and put away by Monday am when the packers come.
*Checking all of the animal carriers to make sure we have enough of them and that they all fit (some of the cats have grown, a lot!)
*Call the relocation company regarding appraisers.
*Attend a conference call for work that is mandatory and very important if I want to keep my job.

BONUS- As an extra it would be very nice to get some knitting time in, though who knows if that will happen

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Hershey Chocolate bars, I love milk chocolate (even though it is not the high class chocolate we are supposed to want. ) Then there are White Cheddar cheese its, oranges, strawberries, corn chips with salsa, gherkins, and olives of any kind

4. Places I’ve lived:
Hiawatha, Utah—a coal mining town that no longer exists
Price, Utah
Bell, California
Oxnard, California
Paramount, California
Mojave, California
Boston, Massachusetts
Locust Grove, Georgia
Glasgow, Kentucky
Stockbridge, Georgia
Soon to be- Lakewood, Colorado
Before I moved to Stockbridge, GA, I have moved so many times that we often lived places for just a few months at a time. In the 30 years I have been married I have moved 21 times.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Travel to everywhere several times (must be for fun, not work)
2. Buy a huge house that has several rooms for crafts, (sewing, knitting, etc) that includes a place for stashes and books. I want a ton of built in bookcases too. It also has to have a pool (one for people and one for dogs) and room for all of the family who wants to stay with me (though maybe guest houses may work better, hmmm?)
3. Invest in a wind generator to power my house and hopefully sell some power back to the power company (just for the fun of it).
4. Pay off my daughters’ and my student loans.
5. Find a way to help people who are starving, starting in the US and then branching out, children should not be going to bed hungry.

Now it is my turn to tag 6 people to play (or not--Blogland is pretty lax on such things):

Trek
Smariek
Marilyn
Grace
Warrior Knitter
Cass

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Dogs (and Cats) on Thursday

Well, I took all of the animals to get their identification chip implant on Saturday, and it was great fun (not!) It was sponsored by the local Animal Shelter and there were many animals there, and not just the four-legged kind. We got there early, since we did not know if they were limited to the number of id’s they would do that day, and the shelter had not yet opened. Fortunately, we were the first ones there, because the line when we came out was long, hot, and noisy. One man was practically in tears when his bulldog received his, he said it did not bother him when his kids got shots, but he felt sorry for Roscoe (the dog).

We took the three cats and the dogs and they never flinched when they had the giant needle put into their skin. We then took the cats home and took the dogs to Petsmart to buy new collars for everyone. Poor Lola was terrified as a pit bull looked at her and started drooling. Di was so busy smelling all the new smells she didn’t even look at him. Why do people get such mean looking dogs and then not control them when they take them out in public? Then we took them to the ice cream shop that gives doggy size portions with a dog bone for a treat, the dogs get so excited when they see this place, that it is fun to take them there.

Aren’t pets great?

Keepin' Cool in Summer Dischloth Exchange Questionnaire

1. Do you Knit or Crochet? For how long?
I have been a knitter for about 5 years

2. Do you enjoy using metal, wooden, or some other kind of needle\hook?
I like wooden needles, however my Options needles from knitpicks seem to work faster.

3. What are your favorite types of yarn? Any you just can't stand?
My favorite yarns are natural fibers of any kind. I seriously dislike acrylic.

4. When it comes to cotton, are there any brands you'd love to try and haven't?
I would like to try an organic cotton, but I haven’t yet.

5. When you make Dishcloths, do you use them yourself, or tend to give them as gifts?
I use the dishcloths I make, though I give a lot of them away as gifts with a lucios soap.

6. Do you have a favorite color? Any that you dislike?
I love bright colors, dislike dark and dreary colors.

7. What color(s) (if any!) are your kitchen and bath decorated in?
I am in the process of moving, so I am not sure what the colors in the new house will be, I am thinking yellow, or something neutral.

8. What are your favorite scents around the house?
Vanilla, cinnamon, musk and lavender.

9. What is your very favorite thing about summer?
The days are longer, sitting in my swing reading or knitting and watching the world go by.

10. What is your least favorite thing about summer?
Heat and humidity, I have been living in Georgia, so I know humidity.

11. Do you use soap or body wash in the shower?
Both

12. What scents do you enjoy in the bath?
Vanilla or light English garden.

13. What is your favorite dishcloth pattern?
I know it is silly, but I love Grandma’s Favorite, it is quick but pretty.

14. What sort of treats do you enjoy? Sweet or Salty?
In the summertime I love lemonade and chocolate (year round) and I always like pretzels. I just like treats of any kind.

15. Imagine today is one of the hottest days of the year - what do you do to keep cool? Or are you one of those folks who loves the hot weather?
I hate hot weather, I think it should be spring or fall most of the year. I sit in my air conditioned house to stay cool, though I love to swim and play in the pool too.

16. What sorts of hobbies do you enjoy besides knitting or crocheting?
I like to read, play games, chat with friends, and to travel.

17. Do you collect anything (besides yarn!)
Books

18. Are you on Ravelry? If so, share your ID!
lazyknitter

19. Do you have any allergies?
Penecillin, please do not send me anything growing its own. :-)

20. Do you have any pets?
I have 2 dogs and three cats, who are my special babies.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

What a Sap. . .

I know I have commented before about the little quizzes, one can take on line and then they come back and give you information about yourself. I always wonder how honest they are and if they just have a random generator that responds with no thought to the answers the person gave. Do they really have an answer for someone who takes the quiz seriously, or do they just take the next answer in a line of answers? (Does that sentence make sense to you?) So, I took a couple more silly quizzes this morning, they makes me seem very ambivalent or indecisive. Maybe that is the Pisces coming out in me :-)

And on knitting, I am slowly knitting away on my socks, the BBS and the Dublin Rose, though it is taking me forever because we are still packing and preparing to move. Our house has been on the market for 45 days now and we have not had even one lookie loo. Well, we can always live under an overpass when we get to Colorado.




What Your Fridge Says About You



You like to be surrounded by things you love. You aren't exactly greedy, but you can be materialistic at times.



You tend to be a fairly thrifty person. You splurge occasionally, but you're mostly a saver.



You are a very adventurous person. You love to try new things, and you get bored very easily.



You are responsible, together, and mature. You act like an adult, even when you don't feel like it.



You are likely married, possibly with kids.





You Are a Smiley Face Cookie



You're happy go lucky. So happy, in fact, it's a little past the point of normal sanity.

You usually make those around you smile ... when you're not creeping them out!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

THE Call

I know I am a bad blogger; however, this has been a very harried couple of weeks. I went for my annual fun visit to the OB/GYN about a month ago, and fortunately, for me, they are able to do my mammogram so it is like one stop shopping. I got my results from the gooshy test and everything was fine, as I expected; but I noticed that I had not received the results from the mammogram (which normally comes a week later). I was just getting ready to call to find out what was going on when I got THE phone call.

There was a problem with the mammogram on my right breast.

They set up an appointment to send me to a radiology clinic so I could have another mammogram and a possible ultrasound, but the wait was excruciating. This is not something I ever expected to get a phone call about. There is no history of breast cancer in my family, in fact, there is very little history of any kind of cancer in my family and it is just not something I ever thought would happen to me. I am sure that everyone feels that way though.

I went through the next few days in a fog, was the move to Denver on hold, would the x-ray just be a blip or a bad one, or should I plan on going through treatment? All of these things just kept circling through my brain. My family was more upset than I was, to get them to think more positively, I told them that it was a good thing I had joined the Knit-a- Tit-Along and could knit my own boob if it came to that. At least they laughed for a minute.

To make an already long story a little shorter, I do not have breast cancer, I have a bump in my boob that has been there for many years, but had shrunk in size. Why the fact that it had shrunk would cause a problem they did not explain, and it does not matter as I can now breathe and the weight is lifted. I have decided I must find some way to help breast cancers survivors when I finally am moved.

With all the fuss, I did get some knitting done; I started a pair of Big Black Socks or BBS for Socks for Soldiers and worked on the Dublin Rose socks for my daughter.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Alana is having a Blogoversary Contest

She is having a one year Blogoversary Contest that is cool, as I haven’t even been doing this for a year. She is giving away both yarn and books; you can find her blog at http://stringsandpurls.blogspot.com/2008/05/im-having-blogoversary-contest.html if you want to register.

I love contests, as if you couldn’t tell!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Four Things Meme

Four jobs I've had:
1. Contracting Officer for the federal government.
2. Sales associate in a women’s clothing store.
3. Fast food cashier (believe it or not, this was the most fun!)
4. Grocery clerk.

Four Movies I’ve watched more than once:
1. When Harry met Sally
2. Hard Days Night (Beatles)
3. Atonement
4. All Harry Potter movies

Four places where I’ve lived:
1. Stockbridge, GA
2. Hanscom AFB, MA
3. Mojave, CA
4. Bell, CA

Four TV shows I watch:
1. Top Chef
2. Deadliest Catch
3. Law and Order SVU
4. That’s about all. . .

Four places I’ve visited:
1. Grand Cayman Island
2. Belize
3. Hawaii
4. Costa Rica

Four favorite foods:
1. Chocolate (with nuts, without nuts, milk and dark and everything in between)
2. Cheese tortellini, pasta
3. Trout Almandine
4. Mexican food of any kind, spicy and hot

Four sites I (try to) visit (almost) daily (or weekly):
1. Yahoo (email)
2. Gmail (email)
3. CNN, I refuse to watch TV news
4. TMZ, to get my daily dose of gossip

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. On a sunny beach, any beach, with a cool drink, a good book and a knitting project.
2. On a cloudy beach, with a good book and a knitting project.
3. On a boat (either cruise ship or on a private small boat) enjoying the sun and water with a cool drink, a good book and a knitting project.
4. Sight seeing in Ireland, along with a good book and a knitting project.

Four things I'm looking forward to this year:
1. Buying a new house (though I am not sure if this is something to look forward to).
2. Moving to Denver (again, I am not sure if this is something to look forward to).
3. A vacation somewhere warm and sunny in December.
4. Learning how to ski.

Four people I'm (not) tagging:
1.
2.
3.
4.

If you want to play, please leave a comment with your blog url so I can visit and see your post. :-)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Dogs on Thursday

Updated 5/2/8

I just got my tax refund and guess who are getting chip implants. All five animals, thanks to Edward at http://sothethingisblog.blogspot.com/. After reading his saga, I cannot possibly try and move without making sure that each of the animals has a chip implanted in case they run away during the horridness of moving from Atlanta to Denver.


Here are two of my babies playing-



Lola (the Chihuahua) loves to play and challenge Di, and for the most part Di enjoys this, however her meds make her tired so it only lasts for a little while.